To an intern who typically starts work at 10 a.m., 6:30 a.m. is a very unpleasant time to wake up. But one Friday morning, I accepted the difficult task of getting up before the sun was fully awake to take a tour the Meals on Wheels and More kitchen.
I walked in a few minutes before 8 a.m. and the kitchen was already buzzing with activity. A team was already packaging the meals, stacking them in coolers and getting them out the door. Work, here, begins at 4 a.m. Monday through Thursday and on Fridays 2:30 a.m.
I found Luis Bella, who was to be my tour guide around the 9,740-square-foot kitchen. Our tour began at the assembly line where kitchen staff was placing a main entrée and sides into compartmentalized Biodegradable Trays. After the food was placed in the trays, they were whisked down an assembly line where automatic machine sealed them with a micro-perforated film. Each meal was then stamped with a label that provides the date it was served and reheating instructions.
We next walked past a series of large cooking kettles - five 60 gallon kettles and one 80 gallon kettle. As I awed over the size of the kettles Luis told me that the kitchen cooks about 1,000 pounds of vegetables in those kettles each day.
We passed the kettles and came to a bulletin board with information breaking down the menus for the special dietary needs of Meals on Wheels and More’s clients. Since some clients have different needs, Meals on Wheels and More color codes its menus -- gray for puree, orange for less spice, and so on. Not only does Meals on Wheels and More provide anywhere from 17,000 to 24,000 per week, but they also must cater to the special needs of each of their clients.
As I stood there looking over the menus, Luis reminded me on Fridays the kitchen staff starts not at 4 a.m. but at 2:30 a.m.! Admittedly, some Thursday “nights” I am still out at that time. Meals on Wheels and More delivers around 2,400 frozen meals over the weekend so work has to start early early on Friday to prepare for the weekend.
We moved to the back end of the kitchen, peeking in freezers and coolers. Most of the freezers were a bit larger than ones I had seen in restaurants, but I was not truly impressed until we reached the farthest side of the kitchen. We stopped in front of a heavy metal door that looked like an industrialized version of the Emerald Gate to Oz.
Luis reached up and grabbed a yellow cord hanging from the right side and told me this was going to be, “Neat.” As he pulled the cord, the doors spilt apart revealing a 40-foot long, 14-foot wide freezer with 10-foot high ceilings. We stepped in, but just for a moment. It was 9 degrees Fahrenheit in there. This freezer housed the frozen weekend meals and the 150 breakfast meals that are delivered weekly.
We finished the tour in the dry storage area. Luis didn’t provide me with the dimensions of this area, but unless it was an optical it made that 40 foot freezer look tiny. As we walked through the storage area Luis told me that the budget for food each week is about $35,000!
We had circled around the kitchen and finished the tour. Reviewing what I had just seen, I would think that it would take at least 50 cooks to run this kitchen. Not so. There are just four chefs - four talented chefs, some of who also work in Whole Foods’ kitchen. Luis also told me that on occasion there is an intern from Le Cordon Bleu who spends time training at the Meals on Wheels and More kitchen.
Hmmm… it was Friday. I wondered if they could keep the kitchen open just a bit longer for a romantic dinner date. Nope, not that lucky, and I think the amazing kitchen staff of Meals on Wheels and More deserves the night off. They do start work at regularly at 4 a.m.
Meals on Wheels and More always needs good volunteers to help them deliver meals and provide other services to clients. Meal delivery takes just one lunch hour per week and meal pick-up sites are located all across Austin so it’s convenient no matter where you live or work. If you are interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.mealsonwheelsandmore.org/volunteer/.
